,';rcT.m- 


LINCOLN  SKETCHES 


BY 


GARRETT  NEWKIRK 


^^--/  >^^.^  '^  <  ^^.  9. 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 


founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


LINCOLN  LIFE  SKETCHES 


LINCOLN  LIFE  SKETCHES 

In  Verse  and  Prose 


BY 

GARRETT  NEWKIRK 


NEW  YORK 

DUFFIELD  AND  COMPANY 

1920 


Copyright,  1920,  by 
GARRETT  NEWKIRK 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


H  ^  N  4  fc  JZ. 


Inscribed 

to  my  friend y 

Dr.  Norman  Bridge: 

A   Lincolnian   Patriot 


,•-» 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Man-Child 1 

Boyhood 2 

Youth 4 

Adventure 6 

Disillusion 7 

A  Centurion 8 

Illinois 9 

Characteristics 10 

Great  Issues 11 

Chosen         13 

Waiting 13 

The  Storm 15 

Harvest  of  Death 16 

The  Burden 17 

Victories        18 

Address 19 

Ground   Arms!        20 

Peace        21 

The    Stroke 23 

The   Nation's   Gloom       ....     .^    ....  24 

Angels 25 

Notes        29 

Brief   Classics       43 


LINCOLN  LIFE  SKETCHES 


TO    THE  READER 

Washington,  D.  C. 

August  17, 1863. 
Hon.  James  Conkling, 

Springfield,  111. 
My  Dear  Conkling: — 

I  cannot  leave  here  now.  Herewith  is  a  letter 
instead.  You  are  one  of  the  best  public  readers. 
I  have  but  one  suggestion — read  it  very  slowly. 

And  now  God  bless  you  all. 

Yours  as  ever, 

A.   LINCOLN. 


THE    MAN-CHILD. 

Home  of  the  Pioneer :  a  house  of  logs, 

Fire-place  of  stones  and  clay; 
Stick-chimney  queer,  one  southward  open  door. 

For  light  and  cheer  of  day. 

A  slender  woman,  young,  in  homespun  garb, 

A  man-child  bending  o'er; 
Within  a  lowly  cradle  gently  rocked, 

Upon  the  earthen  floor. 

A  cradle  rude,  God's  basket,  like  the  ark. 

That  lay  among  the  reeds 
Upon  the  Nile,  filled  with  a  nation's  hope, 

And  promise  of  great  deeds. 


[1] 


II 


BOYHOOD 


— **Most  potent  decade  of  alloted  years" — 


Free  growth  among  the  wild-flowers,  plants  and  trees, 

Music  of  bird  and  brook; 
Learning  of  simple  things,  the  helpful  task, 

With  stories  from  the  Book. 

A  mother-priestess,  daily  sowing  seed 

"Within  a  fertile  mind ; 
That,  with  the  quickening  touch  of  future  years. 

Shall  blossom  for  mankind. 

A  startling  call!  the  parting  word  and  prayer, 

Mid  evening  shadows  dim: 
Forever  stilled  the  voice  that  sang  with  cheer 

The  early  morning  hymn. 

[2] 


BOYHOOD 

On  this  low  hill,  beneath  the  native  oak, 

Is  seen  a  humble  mound: 
Approach  with  reverence  and  uncovered  head, 

Thou  stand 'st  on  holy  gi'ound. 


[3] 


Ill 


YOUTH 

Twelve  growing  years,  of  toilsome  labor  full : 

A  towering,  stalwart  form, 
Of  fibre  knit  like  ironwood  or  oak, 

To  battle  with  the  storm. 

Far  swings  the  ax,  half  circling,  through  the  air; 

Cleaves  deep  the  shining  blade: 
The  tree,  with  loud  reverberating  crash. 

Upon  the  earth  is  laid. 

"Wide  sweeps  the  sickle  in  his  mightj^  hand, 

Out  through  the  standing  grain : 
Or,  like  the  man  of  Nazareth  he  wields 

The  hammer  and  the  plane. 

[4] 


YOUTH 

Few  books  but  choice,  read  o*er  and  o'er  again, 

Before  the  fagot  light; 
Or  in  the  Sabbath  stillness  of  the  woods, 

And  pondered,  day  and  night. 


[5] 


IV 


ADVENTURE 

Young  manhood's  freedom,  and  desire  to  see 

The  city  of  his  dream; 
A  ship  to  build  along  the  dock  of  clay, 

And  launch  upon  the  stream. 

Adown  the  Mississippi  then  behold, 

Borne  by  the  current  free, 
A  merchant  vessel  of  the  western  wild, 

With  woodman  sailors  three. 

Sail  on!    Thy  tall  commander  at  the  helm 

Holds  hard  the  guiding  oar; 
And  cheers  thy  crew  to  laughter  and  to  song, 

With  echoes  from  the  shore. 


[6] 


DISILLUSION 

Medley  of  races  in  the  marts  of  trade, 

Babel  of  speech  and  scene : 
Lost  is  the  fancied  glory  when  he  views 

The  sordid  life  and  mean. 

Beside  the  market-place  for  slaves  dark-hued, 

Of  cruel  greed  the  spoil, 
He  broods  despondent  on  their  going  forth 
To  unrequited  toil." 


( ( I 


Return,  0  Son  of  Freedom!  to  thy  home, 

Breathe  the  pure  air  again; 
Have  faith,  the  manacles  of  men  shall  fall, 
Before  thy  voice  and  pen. 


[7] 


VI 


A  CENTURION 

Frontiers  aflame!    Advance  the  pioneers 

O'er  prairies  wild  and  wide; 
One  proud  to  be  the  captain  of  their  choice, 

Leads  on  with  lengthy  stride. 

At  night,  when  camp-fire  embers  wierdly  glow, 

Beside  the  Indian  trail; 
He  guiles  the  gloaming  hours  with  Aesop 's  lore, 

And  many  a  thrilling  tale. 

The  cruel  spirit  of  his  thoughtless  men 

Oft  makes  his  anger  bum ; 
He  shields  the  prisoner  from  their  leveled  guns. 

With  high  command  and  stem. 


[8] 


VII 


ILLINOIS 

A  State!    New  born  upon  the  primal  soil: 

Where  honest  workmen  build 
Rough  hewn,  the  walls  of  freedom  and  of  law, — 

Manhood  their  only  guild. 

A  new  arena,  where  the  sons  of  toil 

Contend  in  homespun  mail ; 
With  speech  unpolished,  of  the  out-door  school, 

— Knights  of  the  field  and  flail. 

One  towering  high  in  early  manhood's  prime, 

Comes  forth  within  the  lists;   , 
Unboastful,  but  with  battle-ax  to  strike 

Wherever  wrong  exists. 


19] 


VIII 

CHARACTERISTICS 

The  brave,  indomitable  heart  of  him 

Is  tender  to  the  core; 
He  hears  the  grieving  bird,  and  turns  aside 

Her  nestlings  to  restore. 

Unwavering  in  the  love  of  truth,  he  grows 

Beyond  all  narrow  scope : 
Embittered  not  in  spirit  by  defeat, 

Or  disappointed  hope. 

A  soul  of  melancholy  shades,  yet  lit 

By  humor 's  kindly  rays : 
As  o  'er  a  mountain  dark  with  clouds  of  rain 

The  summer  sunshine  plays. 


[10] 


IX 


GREAT   ISSUES 

—  1858  — 

A  lion  roused!    "When  freedom  yields  her  line, 

Before  the  whip  and  goad; 
And  onward  moves  the  shadow  of  the  slave 

Along  the  Free-Man's  road! 

Now,  with  this  battle-gage  defiant  thrown, 

Two  chosen  giants  meet; 
Truth's  champion  bears  the  better  lance  and  shield,- 

Yictorious  in  defeat! 

Prophetic  words  ring  out,  high  toned  and  clear. 

Across  the  waiting  land: 
"United  in  the  faith  that  right  makes  might, 

Undaunted  we  shall  stand/' 


[11] 


^mmemm. 


CHOSEN 
— 1860  — 

Shall  we  upon  the  western  land,  spread  forth 

Like  parchment  pure  and  white, 
Out-pour  the  blot  of  wicked  wrong  and  shame, 

Or  laws  of  freedom  write? 

Shall  prideful  caste  the  tyrant  will  enforce, 

And  Conscience  still  her  voice? 
The  Ballot  answers  NO!  and  Wisdom  high, 

Decrees  the  Nation's  choice: 

The  man  ordained,  through  fitting  years  upgrown: 

Of  marvelous  poise  and  will : 
Withheld  from  lesser  honors,  long  desired, 

The  highest  place  to  fill. 


[12] 


XI 


WAITING 

*Elect,  yet  unempowcrcd,  he  can  but  wait; 

— Chained  to  the  lingering  days; 
The  while  unhindered  forces  are  employed 

With  parting  of  the  ways. 

Enforced  to  silence  misconstrued,  he  views 

The  coming  danger-tide; 
Fed  by  the  rising  streams  of  discontent, 

O'er  all  the  Southland  wide. 

Heard  are  the  mingled  voices, — threatenings  dire 

Of  sacrifice  and  fate, 
Inspiring  words  of  courage  and  of  hope: 

— Deep  undertone  of  Hate. 

*  From  Nov.  3  to  March  4. 

[13] 


WAITING 

For  those  there  are  with  eyes,  that  will  not  see, 

With  ears,  that  will  not  hear; 
Tho'  Moses  and  the  prophets  all  should  speak, 

Or  Christ  Himself  appear. 

Farewell  for  aye!  to  this  love-hallowed  home 

Where  all  thy  sons  were  born; 
Bespeak  the  prayers  of  these,  thy  neighbor-friends, 

— Tear-dimmed  their  eyes  this  mom. 


[14] 


XII 


THE    STORM 

Columbian  skies  are  ominous  and  dread, 

With  lurid  clouds  aglare; 
Afar  the  sound  of  rolling  chariot-wheels 

Is  borne  upon  the  air. 

*One  startling  flash  along  the  low  south-east, 

A  shock! — felt  'round  the  world: 
Then  forth  upon  the  ether,  passion-charged. 

Ten  thousand  bolts  are  hurled. 

Four  years  of  storm,  the  struggling  Ship  of  State 

Upon  an  ocean  vast; 
Her  steadfast  Captain  standing  day  and  night. 

Unflinching  in  the  blast. 

*  Sumpter. 


[15] 


XIII 

HARVEST    OF   DEATH 

Now  brothers  of  a  noble  race  forget 

Their  heritage  of  birth; 
Impelled  by  fancied  wrong,  their  fathers*  flag 

They  trample  to  the  earth. 

On  many  a  crimson  field,  the  reaper,  Death, 

Holds  carnival  with  Pain: 
With  sickle  keen  the  rider  and  the  horse 

Are  heaped  upon  the  plain. 

By  sunlit  palm  and  snowy  pine  is  heard 

The  voice  of  weeping  sore; 
The  widow  and  the  orphan  bow  in  grief 

For  him  who  comes  no  more. 


[16] 


XIV 
THE    BURDEN 

0,  Man  of  patience!     Watching  through  the  hours 

Of  days  that  seem  as  years; 
Upholding,  Atlas-like,  a  very  world 

Of  duties,  toils  and  fears. 

Each  day  the  mark  for  many  a  cruel  shaft 

Of  foe,  or  friend  unwise; 
The  while  he  giveth  balm  to  broken  hearts 

That  plead  in  lowly  guise. 

With  far  prophetic  vision  calm  and  sure, 

He  stays  the  hand  of  power; 
Till  Time's  unerring  dial  points  at  last 

Emancipation's  hour. 


[17] 


XV 


VICTORIES 

*A  sunburst!  gleaming  on  a  splendid  stream, 

"With  victory  on  the  height ; 
In  honor  of  the  Nation 's  natal  day, 

Her  banners  crowned  with  light. 

fA  field  baptized  with  blood,  and  mingled  tears 

Of  gratitude  and  grief; 
Where  comes  the  Man,  plain,  modest  and  sincere ; 

To  pay  a  tribute  brief. 


♦Vicksburg,  July  4,  '63. 
t  Gettysburg. 


[18] 


XVI 
ADDRESS 

In  towering  height,  above  the  silent  throng 

He  lifts  his  dreaming  eyes; 
Out  o'er  the  consecrated  battle-ground, 

Then  far  to  glowing  skies : 

Now  forth  upon  the  listening  world  he  pours 

The  feeling  of  his  soul, 
In  simple,  child-like  words;  to  be  enshrined 

While  centuries  onward  roll. 


[19] 


XVII 
GROUND   ARMS! 

•Once  more  on  Earth,  in  fateful  Wilderness, 

The  voice  of  God  is  heard: 
Like  Sinai 's  thunder  sound  the  embattled  guns 

That  speak  the  final  word. 

What  hast  thou  gained,  0  brothers  of  the  race, 

Of  thy  dead  flag  and  name? 
]For  courage  nohle  and  surrender  hrave, 

The  JiigJi  and  deathless  fame. 

Yea  more,  the  infinite  blessing  of  defeat, 

Denial  of  thy  goal: 
The  bane  destroyed,  and  with  thy  fatherland 

A  reunited  soul. 


*  Battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
t  Appomattox. 


[20] 


XVIII 


PEACE 

New  day:    Behold  the  Man! — his  face  aglow, 

Lit  by  the  rising  sun: 
With  benediction  and  a  smile  alike 

For  those  who  failed  or  won. 

He  sees  upon  the  dark,  departing  cloud, 

Bright  Hope^s  prophetic  bow; 
While  o'er  the  shining  hills  on  either  hand 

Blue  skies  are  bending  low. 

He  hears  the  voice  of  gratitude  and  praise 
Where  dusky  freedmen  throng; 

Again  the  birds  are  flying  from  the  south 
To  fill  the  air  with  song. 

[21] 


PEACE 

Uplifted  is  the  burden,  with  release 

From  agonizing  care: 
The  bliss  of  sleep  with  only  buoyant  dreams. 

The  peace  of  answered  prayer. 


[22] 


/ 


•9190 


XIX 

THE    STROKE 

A  fell,  demoniac  spirit  stalks  unseen, 

His  purpose  to  fulfill : 
With  fiendish  art  to  blight  a  sacred  home, 

And  thwart  a  nation 's  will. 

As  out  of  darkness  comes  the  meteor's  gleam, 

One  moment  and  away; 
Or  jungle  tiger  from  his  cover  close 

Springs  forth  upon  his  prey, — 

I 
So  on  the  man  of  mighty  conscience  falls 

The  dire,  malignant  blow; 

Appalling  words  are  spoken  through  the  land. 

In  w^hispers  hoarse  and  low. 


[23] 


XX 


THE    NATION'S    GLOOM 

Whene'er  of  old  upon  the  nooning  orb 

A  full  eclipse  was  thrown, 
Men  stood  appalled,  filled  with  a  gruesome  dread 

Of  threatening  ills  unknown: 

So  now,  the  instant  cloud  of  grief  appears 

To  hide  the  sun  and  sky, 
Black  shadows  fall  o'er  every  hill  and  vale. 

And  ghostly  shapes  draw  nigh. 

The  smouldering  fires  of  passion,  late  subdued, 

Break  hideous  forth  again ; 
And  fierce  Revenge  with  blazing  brand  of  rage 

Would  sear  the  souls  of  men. 


[24] 


XXI 

ANGELS 

But  Jiark!    Above  discordant  sound  is  heard 

The  voice  of  music  near; 
*"Tlie  better  Angels/*  singing  as  they  come, 

Disperse  the  clouds  of  fear. 

And  lo!    A  Sa'oll,  upon  the  brightening  sky, 

By  unseen  hands  unrolled; 
Whereon  his  own  immortal  words  are  writ, 

In  characters  of  gold. 

*  *  With  love  to  all  and  malice  toward  none, ' ' 
— Here  Earth  and  Heaven  meet — 

''The  last  full  measure  of  devotion"  given, 
— A  sacrifice  complete. 


*  See  first  "Inaugural. 


[25] 


ANGELS 

The  unburdened  Spirit  now  in  larger  spliere, 

Doth  speak  with  mightier  power; 
Proclaiming  Truth's  evangel,  Mercy's  law. 
Till  time's  remotest  hour. 


[26] 


NOTES 


NOTES 

I 

The  IVIan-Child 

These  three  verses  were  published,  with  illustra- 
tions, in  The  Outlook  Magazine  for  Februar>%  1899. 
Since  then,  on  the  spot  of  his  birth  the  ''House  of 
Logs"  has  been  carefully  reconstructed,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  material  remaining,  and  a  fine  memorial  build- 
ing dedicated  with  appropriate  ceremonies  to  the 
memory  of  the  *' Man-child. " 

II 

Boyhood 

For  Lincoln  ^s  own  statement  of  his  mother  ^s  in- 
fluence on  his  life,  with  particular  reference  to  the 
religious  training  of  his  earlier  years,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  work  of  Henry  B.  Rankin,  of  Spring- 
field: ''Personal  Recollections  of  Ahraliam  Lincoln." 
It  is  the  story  of  an  interview  in  the  Rankin  home. 
He  was  ten  years  old  lacking  four  months  at  the  time 
of  her  death,  which  caused  him  life-long  grief. 

It  was  a  strange,  local  disease,  not  the  hardship  of 

[29] 


NOTES 

pioneer  life,  that  caused  her  death.  The  mystery  of 
the  so-called  ''niilk-sickness'^  has  never  been  fully 
explained. 


Ill 


The  Youth 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  his  Autobiographical  letter,  passes 
over  this  period  with  these  sentences:  **I  was  raised 
to  farm  work,  which  I  continued  till  I  was  twenty- 
two. '^  Again:  ''Somehow,  I  could  read,  write  and 
cipher  to  the  rule  of  three  but  that  was  all.  The  little 
advance  I  now  have  upon  this  store  of  education  I 
have  picked  up  from  time  to  time  under  the  pressure 
of  necessity. 

"From  my  eighth  to  within  my  twenty-third  year 
I  was  almost  constantly  handling  that  most  useful 
instrument — the  ax.  '^  "We  know  that  he  did  also  some 
carpentering  and  cabinet  work. 


IV 


Adventure 

Up  to  the  age  of  eighteen  Abraham  had  never  seen 
a  city, — nothing  greater  than  a  backwoods  town.  New 
Orleans,  1,400  miles  distant  by  waterways,  was  the 
one  great  market  of  the  West-South  country. 

[30] 


NOTES 

The  first  trip  was  made  from  Spencer  County,  Ind., 
via  the  Ohio  and  lower  Mississippi,  the  second  from 
Sangamon  County,  111.,  via  the  Sangamon  and  Illinois 
rivers,  to  the  upper  Mississippi. 


V 

Disillusion 

It  was  on  his  second  visit,  three  years  later,  that  he 
was  most  sorely  depressed  in  spirit  by  seeing  human 
beings  bought  and  sold  like  cattle  in  the  slave  mar- 
ket. And  it  was  then  he  is  reported  to  have  said :  **If 
I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  institution,  I'll  hit  it 
hard."  He  was  surely  despondent,  for  at  that  time, 
1831,  there  seemed  to  be  no  hope  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery. 


VI 

A  Centurion 

Mr.  Lincoln  says  (in  the  Fell  letter),  "Then  came 
the  Black  Hawk  "War;  and  I  was  elected  a  Captain 
of  Volunteers,  a  success  which  gave  me  more  pleasure 
than  any  I  have  had  since. ' ' 

It  is  told  that  he  saved  the  life  of  an  old  Indian 

[31] 


NOTES 

who  came  to  the  camp  with  a  letter  of  safe  conduct 
from  Gen.  Cass.  On  account  of  recent  outrages  on 
the  frontier,  the  very  sight  of  an  Indian  infuriated 
the  men. 

VII 

Illinois 

The  State  was  j^oung,  just  in  the  making,  at  the 
time  when  the  career  of  Lincoln  began.  Knights  in- 
deed thej^  were,  he  and  his  contemporaries ; — such  men 
as  John  Calhoun,  E.  D.  Baker,  0.  H.  Browning,  Ste- 
phen T.  Logan  and  John  T.  Stuart.  With  the  two 
last  named  he  had  at  different  times  partnership  in 
law  practice. 

VIII 

Characteristics 

This  was  the  great  period  of  discipline  and  develop- 
ment in  Mr.  Lincoln 's  life ;  growing  in  knowledge, 
self-confidence  and,  above  all,  in  the  humanities, — 
sjTnpathy,  kindliness,  and  broad  charitableness — yet 
ever  courageous  and  unflinching  where  principles 
were  at  issue.  He  was  in  every  way  continually 
growing  to  the  measure  of  the  great  task  that  lay 
before  him. 

[32] 


NOTES 

That  was  a  little  thing,  a  triflinp^  incident,  but  how 
much  it  meant,  when,  in  company  with  la^\^er  riders 
on  the  circuit,  he  heard  the  voice  of  a  bird's  distress, 
drew  rein  and  went  aside  to  learn  the  cause.  Dis- 
coverinp^  that  a  recent  storm  had  thrown  the  nestlings 
to  the  ground,  he  found  them  one  by  one  and  care- 
fully replaced  them  in  the  nest,  then  went  on  to  be 
laughed  at  by  his  companions  as  one  too  soft-hearted 
to  be  in  the  i)ractice  of  law. 

IX 

Great  Issues 

Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Attempt  to 
make  of  Kansas  a  slave  State.  Lincoln  wrote  to  Fell, 
1859:  **I  was  losing  interest  in  politics  when  the  re- 
peal of  the  Missouri  State  Compromise  aroused  me 
again. ' '  Then  followed  the  great  debates  of  the  * '  Two 
Chosen  Giants" — Lincoln  and  Douglas,  in  1858,  in 
the  contest  for  the  senatorship  of  Illinois. 

** Victorious  in  defeat."*  In  the  senatorial  contest 
Lincoln  had  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  in  Illinois, 
but  owing  to  an  unfair  apportionment  of  the  legis- 
lative districts,  Douglas  had  a  majority  of  the  legis- 
lature on  joint  ballot.  Further,  the  **defea1y"  in  1858 
was  preliminary  to  success  in  the  national  election  of 

*  Lincoln  stated  that  the  hig^hcst  ambition  of  his  life  had 
been  not  to  be  President,  but  to  serve  one  full  term  in  the 
United  States  Senate. 

[33] 


NOTES 

1860.     *' Right  makes  might" — close  of  the  Cooper 
Institute  speech,  1860. 

X 

Chosen 

The  vital  issue  of  the  presidential  campaign  of  1860 
was  the  same  as  that  of  the  senatorial  in  Illinois,  two 
years  previous.  It  was  in  brief,  Shall  slavery  be 
excluded  from  the  territories, — not  yet  states  and 
under  the  control  of  the  General  Government?  The 
republican  party  said  positively  yes.  Both  factions 
of  the  democratic  party  opposed  this  with  differing 
methods  of  decision.  Those  of  the  extreme  Southern 
wing  were  determined  to  win  or  break  the  Union.  It 
was  what  Seward  had  called  *^The  irrepressible  con- 
flict." We  can  hardly  escape  the  conviction  that  Lin- 
coln was  chosen  by  Divine  providence  for  victorious 
leadership. 

XI 

Waiting 

The  period  of  four  months  between  the  time  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  election  and  inauguration  was  one  of  great 
stress  and  anxiety.  No  other  President  elect  has  ever 
experienced  anything  to  compare  with  it,  and  no 
other,  probably,  could  have  endured  it  so  wisely  and 
patiently.    Many  were  the  hours,  we  are  told,  that  he 

[34] 


NOTES 

sat  quietly  at  home  in  the  old  armchair,  pondering 
questions  of  magnitude,  at  the  same  time  playing  with 
the  boys,  taking  their  ^^wooling"  and  teasing  with 
smiles  of  indulgence.  He  seemed  to  realize  that  he 
was  having  possibly  the  last  days  of  the  old  home 
life,  and  that  he  should  make  it  as  joyous  for  them 
as  possible.  With  his  brief,  pathetic,  farewell  speech, 
delivered  from  the  rear  platform  of  the  train  that  was 
to  bear  him  to  Washington,  all  readers  are  familiar. 
It  is  only  second  as  a  classic  to  the  one  delivered  at 
Gettysburg. 

*'Hate.''  *  **  Those  who  will  not  read  or  heed  what 
I  have  already  publicly  said  Avould  not  read  or  heed 
a  repetition  of  it.  'If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
prophets  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead. '  ' '  Lincoln  to  Speer.  ( Complete 
Works,  p.  652.) 

XII 

The  Vital  Conflict 

The  more  one  thinks  of  this  four-year  period,  having 
been  old  enough  to  remember  it  vividly,  the  more  one 
feels  his  inability  to  express  its  meaning  and  pathos 
in  a  few  verses — or  at  all. 


*  "Unhindered  forces"  of  disunion.  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked 
in  his  quaint  way,  that  he  would  have  liked  to  get  down  to 
Washington  in  time  to  shut  the  gate  before  the  horse  was 
stolen,  but  "reckoned  he  could  find  his  tracks." 

[35] 


NOTES 
XIII 

The  Harvest  of  Death 

The  struggle  was  fearful,  the  loss  great,  of  both 
armies,  with  corresponding  grief  in  the  homes  South 
and  North. 

"By  sunlit  palm  and  snowy  pine.'' 

In  proportion  to  the  population  North  and  South 
the  loss  of  life  was  thirty  times  greater  than  that  of 
the  U.  S.  Armies  oversea  in  1918-19. 

XIV 

The  Burden 

How  we  have  all  sympathized  with  him,  over  and 
over  again,  as  we  have  read  of  his  anxiety  and  agony 
of  spirit  for  the  woe  and  suffering  of  it  all;  and  in 
the  midst  the  loss  of  his  o^vn  dear  boy! 

And  how  maligned,  censured,  insultingly  cartooned 
was  he;  ofttimes  misunderstood  by  the  earnestly  well 
meaning:  yet  ever  the  ''man  of  patience." 

XV 

Victories — Turn  of  the  Tide 

Gettysburg,  July  3.  Vicksburg,  July  4th.  History 
records  no  other  two  nearly  simultaneous  victories 

[36] 


NOTES 

that  wrought  such  immediate  confidence  and  faith  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  a  cause.  All  lovers  of  the 
Union  felt  that  though  it  might  be  delayed  the  end 
was  sure. 

XVI 

The  Address 

It  contains  265  words,  and  may  be  read  easily  in 
two  and  one-half  minutes.  One  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  words  are  of  one  syllable;  52  words  have  each 
two  syllables.  Sixteen  remaining  spaces  are  filled  by 
thirteen  words,  three  being  repeated — "devotion," 
"dedicate"  and  "dedicated."  The  remaining  ten 
are  "Government,"  "continent,"  "created,"  "con- 
secrate, "  "  consecrated, "  "  remaining, "  "  altogether,  * ' 
"proposition,"  "unfinished"  and  "Liberty,"  seven 
of  three,  and  three  of  four  syllables  each.  No  word 
admits  a  substitute.  The  address  has  been  oft  criti- 
cized, but  nobody  has  suggested  a  possible  change 
that  would  not  diminish  its  value. 

XVII 

Ground  Arms 

"In  the  wilderness."  For  the  most  remarkable 
description  ever  written  of  the  closing  scenes  of  the 
conflict  ending  with  Appomattox,  the  reader  is  re- 

[37] 


NOTES 

f erred  to  a  book  entitled  **Tlie  Sunset  of  the  Con- 
federacy/' by  Gen.  Morris  Schaff,  U.  S.  A.  No  lover 
of  prose-poetry  can  afford  to  miss  it.  This  is  without 
intention  to  disparage  the  stories  of  Gen.  Horace 
Porter,  Gen.  Grant  and  others — all  excellent. 

XVIII 

Vision  of  Peace 

The  happiest  days  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  were  un- 
doubtedly his  last,  and  for  this  we  may  be  ourselves 
glad  and  thankful.  Words  are  powerless  to  describe 
the  joy  of  peace  that  came,  all  over  the  land,  south 
as  well  as  north. 

XIX 

The  Stroke 

This  was  America's  first  experience  of  the  assassi- 
nation of  one  in  high  office.  All  were  for  the  moment 
unnerved.  War  veterans  were  overcome  with  poig- 
nant grief.    *'Men  wept  who  never  wept  before." 

XX 

A  Nation's  Gloom 

The  most  dismal,  awful  day  in  American  history 

[38] 


NOTES 

was  the  one  following  the  assassination  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  The  people  were  simply  heartbroken. 
Many  were  furious,  thinking  \^'ongly  that  it  repre- 
sented the  spirit  of  the  entire  South. 


XXI 

The  ''Angels" 

** Better  Angels  of  our  nature.'*  See  concluding 
sentence  of  the  first  inaugural  address.  It  is  cause 
for  gratitude  that  the  ''angels''  did  so  soon  reassert 
their  supremacy  over  the  American  people,  subduing 
the  spirit  of  violence  and  revenge. 


[39] 


BRIEF  CLASSICS 


BRIEF    CLASSICS. 

Farewell  Address  at  Springfield,  Illinois 

Feb.  11,  1861 

**My  Friends:  No  one,  not  in  my  situation,  can 
appreciate  my  feeling  of  sadness  at  this  parting.  To 
this  place,  and  the  kindness  of  these  people,  I  owe 
everything.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  Here  my  children  were  born,  and  here 
one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  now  leave,  not  knowing 
when  or  if  ever  I  may  return,  with  a  task  before  me 
greater  possibly  than  that  which  rested  upon  Wash- 
ington. Without  the  assistance  of  that  Divine  Being 
who  ever  attended  him,  I  cannot  succeed.  With  that 
assistance,  I  cannot  fail. 

Trusting  in  Him  who  can  go  with  me  and  remain 
with  you,  and  be  everywhere  for  good,  let  us  con- 
fidently hope  that  all  will  be  well.  To  His  care  com- 
mending you,  as  I  hope  in  your  prayers  you  will  com- 
mend me,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell.'' 


[43] 


BRIEF  CLASSICS 


Close  of  the  First  Inaugural  Address 
March  4,  1861 

**In  your  hands,  my  fellow  countrymen,  and  not  in 
mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  gov- 
ernment will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict 
without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have 
no  oath  registered  in  Heaven  to  destroy  the  govern- 
ment, while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  'to 
preserve,  protect  and  defend  it.' 

**I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion 
may  have  strained  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of 
affection.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching 
from  every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  lov- 
ing heart  and  hearthstone,  all  over  this  broad  land,  will 
yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched, 
as  they  surely  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature.** 


[44]; 


BRIEF  CLASSICS 


Closing  Paragraph  of  a  Tiianksgivinq 
Proclamation 

July  15,  1863 

**Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I  do  set  apart 
Thursday,  the  6th  day  of  August  next,  to  be  observed 
as  a  day  for  national  thanksgiving,  praise  and  prayer; 
and  I  invite  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  as- 
semble on  that  occasion  in  their  customary  places  of 
worship,  and  in  the  forms  approved  by  their  own 
consciences,  render  the  homage  due  to  the  Divine 
Majesty  for  the  wonderful  things  he  has  done  in  the 
nation's  behalf,  and  invoke  the  influence  of  his  Holy 
Spirit  to  subdue  the  anger  which  has  produced  and 
80  long  sustained  a  needless  and  cruel  rebellion ;  to 
change  the  hearts  of  the  insurgents,  to  guide  the  coun- 
sels of  the  Government  with  wisdom  adequate  to  so 
great  a  national  emergency,  and  to  visit  with  tender 
care  and  consolation  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  land  all  those  who,  through  the  vicis- 
situdes of  marches,  voyages,  battles  and  sieges  have 
been  brought  to  suffer  in  mind,  body  or  estate,  and 
finally  to  lead  the  whole  nation  through  paths  of 
repentance  and  submission  to  the  Divine  Will  back  to 
the  perfect  enjoyment  of  union  and  fraternal  peace." 


[45] 


BRIEF  CLASSICS 

The  Gettysburg  Address      Nov.  19,  1863 

**  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in 
liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men 
are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great 
civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation 
so  conceived  and  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are 
met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We  have  come 
to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting- 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that 
nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper 
that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  can- 
not dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow 
this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note, 
nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never 
forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living, 
rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work 
which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly 
advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated 
to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause 
for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion ; 
that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not 
have  died  in  vain ;  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government  of 
the  people,  by  the  pople,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth.'* 

[46] 


BRIEF  CLASSICS 


Close  or  tite  Second  Inaugural  Address 
March  4,  1865 

''Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that 
this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away. 
Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth 
piled  by  the  bondsman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop 
of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another 
drawn  by  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years 
ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  that  *the  judgments  of 
the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.' 

''With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all, 
with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the 
right,  let  us  finish  the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the 
nation 's  wounds,  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne 
the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  his  orphans,  to  do 
all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  a  lasting 
peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations." 


[47] 


